Min. Hamilton promotes land acquisition for young people by joining the neighborhood co-op.

TO mitigate the inconvenience of residents traveling from the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) to Georgetown for business purposes, the Guyana government has set up a Ministry of Labour office in the Better Hope Community Centre Compound on the ECD, costing nearly $8M.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony on Wednesday, the Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, explained that government and governance simply mean giving service to others and making a positive and meaningful impact on people’s lives.

Apart from the residents, the Minister explained that making the staff of any institution more comfortable is a “relevant and important factor” that is necessary in order to have a smooth flow of services.

“Usefulness in any regard is important; my grandmother taught me that there is dignity in labour; when you are useless, that’s a problem. Therefore, this office is a testament to what we have set out to do as a government. The co-op officer in this area is and will be very important to be here so that people can have access to them and would not have to come to Georgetown. Of course, occupation, safety, and health officer, we do not have an officer as yet for the East Coast, but one will be assigned; a labour officer has already been appointed to the East Coast,” he related.

Moreover, Minister Hamilton emphasised that the PPP/C government will not permit the co-op to maintain control over unproductive lands. “We will not, as a government, continue to have the co-op hold on to tens of thousands of acres of land that is unproductive and not utilised,” Minister Hamilton emphasised.

The Minister encouraged young people to get themselves registered and be members of a co-op society, which he said would be beneficial for them in the future. “I would hope that young people understand that there is another way to get to the Promise Land other than lining up at the Ministry of Housing, and that is through your co-op. You will never go wrong with the acquisition of land; land do not spoil; capitalise on the opportunities; and build your life.”

While there may be several distractions along the way of developing Guyana, Minister Hamilton added that initiatives such as these are what they have set out to accomplish.

According to him, “we have to keep our eyes on the ball; that is what we were assigned to do.” He also related that, whether they are ministers, heads of departments, or technical officers, “our role is to give service to the people. That is what the Guyanese people expect, and for us in government.”

Minister Hamilton said that it is his hope that the new office will serve the people of the East Coast of Demerara, and “there shall be no excuse because we have spent a lot of money, almost eight million dollars, to refurbish this place, and therefore it must be used to give service to the people. The way you serve is not to sit down and wait for people to come; you have to go out and engage with them; that is how you give service.”

In response to a question from the Guyana Chronicle regarding citizens’ underutilisation of the government’s newly constructed regional offices, Minister Hamilton urged people to exhibit greater awareness of their surroundings. According to him, individuals must acquire knowledge through social media platforms or alternative means of communication to remain informed about ongoing advancements. He said, “There are a lot of things that fail, but one of the main reasons is that people don’t take the public relations (PR) and communication aspects of it seriously.”

The technical departments of the Ministry of Labour will be housed in the Better Hope office, where coordination of the ministry’s essential services and initiatives will take place.